This report was sponsored by the Union of African Railways, as part of a Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Project task aimed at defining what is involved in restructuring railways so that they behave more like market driven enterprises. The question addressed in this document is not whether the railway should be restructured, but how. The report recommends four types of action to be employed in the process of institutional reform : 1) a strategic plan which defines the environment in which the railway will function and focuses on the crucial policy issues that will guide or influence the railway's planning and actions, 2) a contract plan which defines the roles and responsibilities of the railway and its owner. This plan flows from the strategic plan and should not be developed in isolation from related policy and funding objectives of the government and railway. 3) A management plan that clarifies the objectives of the senior railway executives and their roles and responsibilities in relation to the executive director, and 4) an enabling actions plan, which lists most of the initiatives that must be taken in conjunction with implementation of the first three plans. The focus should be to ensure that the roles and responsibilities defined will actually be realized in law or enforceable agreement.
